


Never Again

by alexcat



Series: 2020 Cap - Iron Man Bingo  (2) [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Bingo, First Kiss, M/M, Making Up, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28923825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: Tony comes to the compound and has a confession for Steve, who has one, too.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: 2020 Cap - Iron Man Bingo  (2) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879633
Kudos: 33
Collections: Captain America/Iron Man Bingo, Of Elves and Men





	Never Again

**Author's Note:**

> For STONY Bingo 2020. Round 2 - prompt Never Again.

Steve saw the car coming into the compound and his heart sped up. It was Tony, but what was he doing here? He’d made it perfectly clear that he wanted no part of this. 

Tony drove up and overshot Steve then backed up and rolled his window down.

Steve’s heart ached at the sight of him.

“Let me guess, he turned into a baby?” Tony looked up at him. 

“Among other things. What’re you doing here?” He wanted to remove those glasses so he could look into those brown eyes, so he could see what Tony was thinking. 

Tony told him that he’d solved it, it being time travel. 

Steve heart was racing though he looked calm on the outside. When they shook hands, he wanted to pull Tony into his arms, kiss him and hold him and _never_ let him go. Getting the shield back was almost his undoing. 

They went inside, where Tony saw Bruce, Natasha, Rhodey and Scott. He greeted every one of them and told them what he’d told Steve. Scott was visibly relieved. That, Steve could understand. 

“Right now, I need a few minutes to talk to Cap.” He turned to Steve. “You okay with that?” 

“Yeah, come with me.” He had no idea what Tony wanted to say, but he led him to the room that had once been his office. It still had his stuff there, but he hadn’t used it since Berlin. 

As soon as the door closed, Tony leaned against the edge of the desk and looked at Steve. 

“What did you want to talk to me about?” 

Tony looked a little nervous and unsure, for a moment, then it passed. “I, uh, you and I, we have some unfinished business.” 

“Tony, I’m sorry that I hurt you, sorry that I wasn’t in New York when it happened.” 

Tony held up his hand and shook his head. “No, that’s not it. We, uh, I think we were close to something more than – I wanted you,” he blurted out after floundering for the right words. “I still do,” he added. “Not sure how you feel or how you ever felt, to be honest. I never asked you, did I?”

Steve was stunned. He stared at Tony for an uncomfortably long time. 

Tony started to speak, but Steve put a finger out to touch his lips. “Don’t. Let me talk for a minute.” 

Tony swallowed hard and nodded. 

“I have wanted you since the Quinjet from Stuttgart. I’ve loved you since you flew that nuke through the hole in the sky. I can’t lose you again. I – you’re married. You have a daughter.”

“She knows, Pepper, I mean. Seems she always knew. We, uh, well, we are better as Morgan’s mom and dad, who are best friends, than we were as lovers. I could never give her what she wanted.”

“What was that?” Steve asked, his voice quiet, almost tentative.

“My love. I couldn’t love her like I did you. I do love her and if this hadn’t happened, I could have been happy puttering around the house and raising Morgan with her.”

“What changed?” 

“When you came to the house that day, you, Lang and Romanov, I knew that I couldn’t do it anymore. I waited a few days before I started working on a solution. Once I found it, Pepper said I needed to finish this. She also said I needed to fix things with you.”

“You love me?” Steve asked, looking as stunned as he felt.

Tony stood up and took his glasses off. “Want to kiss me and find out?” he asked Steve. 

Steve took a step toward him and was surprised when Tony met him halfway and put his arms around him. He was almost afraid to hug Tony back, afraid that he’d evaporate in a puff of smoke. He took a deep breath and touched his lips to Tony’s. He tasted a little minty, like chewing gum, and that somehow comforted Steve, made him feel like this was real and not a fantasy. 

“You still got a room here?” Tony murmured to him, between kisses. 

Steve nodded and they made their way to his quarters. He’d only been back since Lang showed up. Steve closed the door and they undressed quietly, both of them pretending they were cool, when in truth, Steve was so nervous he wasn’t even sure he knew what to do. 

“Hey, it’s all right, Steve,” Tony told him as they came together, standing at the foot of the bed. Neither acknowledged the tears that glistened in both blue and brown eyes as they lay together and finally, after too many years and certainly too many tears, showed one another how much they loved and needed one another. 

They lay quietly after, Steve’s head on Tony’s shoulder. Neither of them spoke for a long time. Tony finally broke the silence. 

“We let too many things come between us, things that shouldn’t have. From now on, we have to do better. I don’t want us to let anything come between. Promise me?” He looked into Steve’s upturned face. 

“Never again, Tony. Never again.”

**Author's Note:**

> My [**Tumblr**](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45).


End file.
